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HSBC’s Swiss private banking business has become very public over the last few days. Details of the scandal involving theft of 24,000 accounts from its offices have hit the top headlines of media outlets around the world.

This is scary stuff for HSBC to have to deal with – the scandal is no doubt occupying much of the senior management at the bank fulltime.

The episode will have far reaching consequences for not just the bank, but bring into further question the validity of bank secrecy in Switzerland today.

Why, for instance, was HSBC saying back in December that only 10 clients were affected by the security breach perpetuated by Herve Falcianni? Given Falcianni had details on 24,000 accounts; the question is whether HSBC knew this back in December and therefore attempted to cover up details about the scandal.

But if the bank didn’t know the extent of the scandal, then there are questions over its competence in dealing with the theft, which after all took place more than four years ago.

To HSBC’s credit the bank has apologised unreservedly.

But many of the 24,000 clients affected by the theft will be very fearful that the French tax authorities, who gained access to the information, will either pursue tax claims on their citizens among the account holders, or give the information to other governments, whose citizens are among those with accounts.

Sources suggest that many of those affected by the theft were likely to be the deeply-religious clients of the Republic Bank of New York clients, founded by Edmund Safra. HSBC bought Republic way back in 1999 – thus catapulting the bank into offshore private banking.

The same sources suggest that a lot of these account holders would have banked with Republic because they believed the bank was one of the safest in terms of confidentiality and privacy around. The theft of that data has shattered that believe.

There are wider questions too. Chairman Stephen Green and chief executive Michael Geoghegan had, according to staff at the private bank, always felt a bit uneasy with the private banking business at HSBC, particularly parts of its offshore business.

This scandal will surely tempt Green and Geoghegan to take a tougher line with parts of the private bank - and stamp out any residue from the Republic days even if that means losing clients.

Then there is the question of what this does for Swiss banking secrecy. Under siege for some time now, this latest scandal will only add to the feeling that banking secrecy in Switzerland is doomed.

Many wealth managers’ say there is growing unease among wealthy clients in emerging markets about banking secrecy in Switzerland. But, with secrecy comprised in many other offshore locations, wealth managers say that giving them a viable alternative is proving more difficult by the day.